The following Background of the Invention is intended to aid the reader in understanding the invention and is not admitted to be prior art.
Illicit drug use is an established and growing problem in our society. In 2003, the US Department of Health and Human Services found that an estimated 19.5 million Americans or 8.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older, were current illicit drug users. Current illicit drug use means use of an illicit drug during the month prior to the US Department of Health and Human Services survey interview. Marijuana was found to be the most commonly used illicit drug, with a rate of 6.2 percent (14.6 million). An estimated 2.3 million persons (1.0 percent) were current cocaine users, 604,000 of whom used crack. Hallucinogens were used by 1.0 million persons, and there were an estimated 119,000 current heroin users.
To combat and monitor this problem, drug testing has become standard procedure in a variety of settings, such as employment, school, sports, law enforcement, and the like. To facilitate this effort, a drug-testing industry has emerged. This industry provides a variety of drug testing products. A typical product is a urine collection cup incorporating analysis tests. These devices can be complicated and difficult or messy to use, or they may pose special problems of sample adulteration by the subject trying to hide their recent drug abuse. In addition, urine samples cannot be collected in certain situations, such as on the road side or in public.
There is therefore a need for better methods and apparatuses for performing sample collection and testing.